Authors

Kana Bak recently graduated with a master’s degree in international business from Sciences Po Paris. With experience in investment management and sustainability consulting across the EU as well as building business partnerships and research networks in South Korea and Singapore, Kana is dedicated to understanding and influencing diverse markets and geopolitical landscapes. She is particularly fascinated by minilateralism and the interdependencies of foreign capital flows with public policy.

Don McLain Gill is a Philippines-based geopolitical analyst, author, and lecturer at the Department of International Studies, De La Salle University, Manila. 

Don is also an APF Canada Indo Pacific Research Fellow. 

Rachael Gurney is a Senior Project Specialist, International Trade and Investment, at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She has a M.A. in Political Science and Contemporary East Asian and Southeast Asian studies from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia. Her master’s research focused on resource nationalism in Indonesia’s critical mineral mining policies. Her research interests concern natural resource policy, foreign direct investment, and free trade.

Xiaoting (Maya) Liu is Program Manager, China, at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She is a Master of International Affairs graduate from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University.

Vina is APF Canada's Vice-President Research & Strategy and leads the Foundation’s research, education, and network support activities. She also oversees the Foundation’s granting and research fellowships programs as well as development and capacity building projects. She is a frequent media commentator on geopolitics, Canadian foreign policy, and Canada-Asia relations, with a focus on India and China.

As an international security and peacebuilding specialist, Vina has more than two decades of professional experience in high-level diplomacy, advocacy, policy-making, and political risk analysis. From war zones to board rooms, Vina has worked with national governments, non-profits, and philanthropic organizations in Canada, the United States, China, and a number of countries in Africa and Central Asia.

Amanda Doyle is a Senior Program Manager at the Asia Pacific Foundation where she oversees the Foundation's APEC Networks. She has a master’s degree in Public Policy and Global Affairs from the University of British Columbia, where she specialized in global governance and security in the Asia Pacific. 

Prior to joining APF Canada, Amanda served as a senior political advisor across various levels of government and in the private sector.

Momo Sakudo is the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Networks Officer with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the School of Public Affairs at Sciences Po Paris and a dual Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia and Sciences Po Paris. As a Japanese national living in Canada, Momo is interested in exploring Asia's growing role in the international community.

Sasha Lee is a Post Graduate Research Scholar with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s Southeast Asia team. She completed her Master's in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and earned her bachelor's from Korea University double majoring in Political Science and Media Communications. Her work includes research into renewable technologies and environmental governance of developing nations.

Tanya Dawar is a Research Scholar with the South Asia Team at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She holds a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs from the University of British Columbia, a Master’s in Economics from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics (Honours) from the University of Delhi. 

Tanya's research interests include international trade, environmental issues, and global politics.

Xuemeng Wang is a Research Scholar with the International Trade and Investment team at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She completed her Master’s in International Studies from Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on socio-economic development, tackling associated challenges, and promoting social equality and sustainable development practices.